GR RP "Adventures in Gunrunning" ACT 24
POSTED BY: CapnRahn
UPDATED: Thursday, December 23, 2004 18:03
VIEWED: 21598
PAGE 5 of 10
Jayne's Move
"I've seen hired men toss passengers into the black just for their shoes. Granted, there was about three million in diamonds in the heels of those shoes, but that doesn't make it any less the case."
Jayne is appauled by what Rowan says. Diamond is just too easy to fake - not worth the risk killing a man over. Gold, on the other hand...
"I worked with fellers what'd shoot ya fer fun. Don't mean I dumped no one."
Some people would mind being accused of murder. Jayne didn't really have that problem. On the one hand it wasn't far from the truth, and on the other hand it let everyone see how dangerous he could be. He liked that.
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KAYLEEs move
LOCATION - DINING ROOM
INARA
"Kaylee, mei-mei, "I found some ribbons earlier." And I thought they might look pretty braided in your hair. Perhaps when things have quietened down...?"
pause
KAYLEE turns back, towards Inara.
INARA
"Mr. Thorne has left the ship."
That gets KAYLEE’s attention. How on earth-that-was could he leave right here and now, in the middle of nowhere? But that is hardly as important as the look on 'Nara’s face. KAYLEE moves towards her, with a gentle smile.
KAYLEE
“Aw, ‘Nara, I’m sorry. Did he say why? Oh, never mind that, are you OK?”
She crosses the room towards INARA, watching. Does she need a hug or a laugh.
EOM
If Justice is the dish, then I am your waitress
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MERZ move
LOCATION - GALLEY As ...
MERZ watches INARA preparing the bao. Watched ROWAN make contact with INARA, touch and smile, as she takes up the plate of completed bao that INARA has just filled.
With the method witnessed firmly in her mind, and the power level ROWAN gave, Merz starts on a second plate. Still watching the room with the portion of her attention not devoted to her cooking; which takes up a surprising amount of her attention to get right.
So she is a witness to the conversation between ROWAN and JAYNE – unsettling as it is. That Thorne is gone strikes her as peculiar behavior even for a civilian. That ROWAN suspects JAYNE of foul play is … well, he does not show any evidence of that to her, but civilians are strange. MERZ knows she can be fooled on some things.
She witnesses the conversation between INARA and KAYLEE, and does not understand. But there really is no danger here; unlike JAYNE, neither Kaylee or Inara seem particularly dangerous.
Merz continues to make bao, to record the words, and to ponder meanings. Still huming softly – that song is… stuck in her mind.
EOM
If Justice is the dish, then I am your waitress
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Rowan's Move
LOCATION - Galley
JAYNE: "I worked with fellers what'd shoot ya fer fun. Don't mean I dumped no one."
Rowan tips her head to one side, thinking back on the succession of ships and planets she's been on since she buried Li in an unmarked grave on Pacquin. How many times has she seen men dropped in the street after a round of gun fire, or a knife in the gut, just for the bag of platinum in their coat pocket? Not as much as one might think, but more than her fair share, certainly. Life is tough out in the black. Get careless and it could be her face-planted in the dirt, her money lifted, her memory forgotten.
Jayne is the type who would kill because he felt like it, but he would probably have to have a better reason than most. Coin would be a motivator, yes, but not just enough to make it to the next port. Rowan has already tagged him as a mercenary with a heart hidden in the back closet somewhere. The part she can't determine is why in the 'verse he would appoint himself as her own personal watch-dog?
FLASHBACK
He was deliberately standing right in her way. A giant mountain of a man, glowering at her the way the warriors in the old Chinese watercolors did. Since he was at least twice as wide as Xiang, there was no way she could step past him, so she just stood there, head tipped back, eyes focused.
"Baobei?"
"Shide?" She turned to see Xiang go on with what he was reading, oblivious to the giant man in his office doorway.
"He won't move."
"It is an all-points alert," Xiang said matter-of-factly. "When it is cleared, he will move."
Rowan turned back to face her husband's new bodyguard and bounced on the balls of her feet. "Could he maybe not move outside the ladies room instead?"
Li gave her the tiniest of smiles.
END FLASHBACK
Rowan closes her eyes, wincing against the pain. She'd grown to love that giant bear of a man and even appreciate his stubbornness. In time she came to see his devotion to Xiang which transferred to her simply because she was Xiang's wife. Once or twice she thought she saw more in Li's eyes than simple respect, but he never spoke of it.
Breathing a sigh as the spasm passes, Rowan decides to add dreaming up conspiracy theories to the list of things to stop thinking about. Lifting the lid on the steamer, she picked up a pair of stainless steel serving tongs and turned the bao.
ROWAN: "Three more minutes, tops. Then I'll need a taste-tester." She meets Jayne's eyes again. "Wouldn't want the captain getting a mouthful of bad bao, now would we da jia huo?
EOM
da jia huo = big guy
Fans come and fans go...but zealots are with you until the bitter black end.
I draw...therefore I am.
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922
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Jayne's Move
"Three more minutes, tops. Then I'll need a taste-tester." She meets Jayne's eyes again. "Wouldn't want the captain getting a mouthful of bad bao, now would we da jia huo?"
How obvious could she be! And then she could just explain it away as bad chalants. "You gotta taste tester, standin' right there in yer boots. Seems like yer the only one'd know if it tastes right er not."
Jayne glances over to River. If she actually wanted to eat it, it must be fine. She could tell if someone put poison into the food. Unless she also knew what Jayne was thinking and lied to make him eat something that would lessen his life expectancy.
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Xiang's Move:
LOCATION - ORBOROS: Tantalus Shipping Nexus
It was very much like those extremely rare moments when he would see the spark of learning blossom in the eyes of one of his students. That precious moment of realization, when he knew he'd touched a young person's mind. This was vastly different. That was the spark that had caused the first crack in his conditioning, enlightening him to the idea that serving in Crofton Trihn's household was not in fact what he had been made for.
Quote:EOM
FLASHBACK
Not until they were two days from Dis did their rescuer declare them safe. How Robert had managed to hire this particular individual, Xiang couldn't say, but he must have put himself into utter destitution in order to afford the fee. The man known only as Templar had come into the cramped cabin himself to inform him that they were beyond the point of no return.
"If there was going to be pursuit, they'd be on us by now," Templar said, employing a lazy but sophisticated drawl that reminded Xiang of a Cajun-descended student he'd had a few years ago. Was it his true speech pattern, or part of one of his many disguises?
Templar went on to add, "Best you go tend to that boy, let him know it's safe. Maybe he'll settle himself on down and sleep the night."
Swinging down from the upper bunk, Xiang went out to comply. He found Damon in the small common area, in the usual place. The lounge chair was turned so that he could rest his feet on the bulkhead and tilted about as far back as it would go. Damon was staring out into the black, calmer now than he had been less than an hour ago when he woke up with a start, soaked in a cold sweat. He refused to discuss it, but Xiang knew the nightmares he had suffered were not something new.
"Templar says we are in the clear," Xiang said. Waiting a response, he pushed up the sleeves on the sweater, the first he'd worn in who knew how long. His own college days, perhaps?
Damon remained as he was for nearly half a minute before his eyes finally turned to Xiang. It was as if he was afraid to acknowledge that Xiang had spoken, in case he was still trapped in the torture of his dreams.
END FLASHBACK
Fans come and fans go...but zealots are with you until the bitter black end.
I draw...therefore I am.
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922
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Damon's turn:
LOCATION - SPARE DORM
Damon opens his eyes, though it makes no difference in the dark room. He feels a smile on his face, remembering Xiang always made him smile. How many times had he saved his life? Or sanity? Countless. Xiang had been good on his promise. Rescue came 17 days after that day. One man. Damon had been expecting an army, though he didn’t know why, one man made more sense. Maybe because over the years he learned just how impossible escaping from Dis is- the kind of impossibility only an army can conquer.
Maybe that was why it took him so long to believe it.
Quote:
Damon lies back on a chair, watching the black through a window in the lounge on… whatever ship he’s on. Time passes so quickly when he sits here, memorized by the beauty of the stars, lost in thoughts that he can’t make heads or tails of.
He constantly feels like he should be doing something, like watching for guards or making escape plans. But he’s passed that now. It took him a few solid meals before his stomach could hold its food. Xiang did his best to get him to pace himself but Damon didn’t think any amount of pacing would have made a difference.
The silence was what bewildered him most. Waking up in his bunk, a room. The dark was natural, the fading nightmare was too, but it was so quiet. No bells ringing, no guards shouting or slaves moving about… just… silence. And then he would stumble around looking for the light only to find he’s not where he expected to be. Even now, sitting in the lounge was weird, surrounded by metal and glass.
He pulls the blanket tighter around his shoulders. It even looked colder than the rock and dirt he was used to. He hasn’t gotten used to the temperature on this ship, though Xiang says it’s normal. He’s tried wearing warmer clothes but even wearing one shirt feels weird. He doesn’t know how Xiang can stand sweaters. Socks were wonderful though, and kept him a lot warmer in this strange place. He could spend hours just studying the room, telling himself that this is where he is. But he spent the most time watching space pass around him. It looked so much different up here.
"Templar says we are in the clear."
Xiang’s words slowly register, but like so many things he’s seen, heard, felt, smelt or ate in the last couple days, he can’t quite wrap his brain around the concept. It’s not a dream- it’s all too unreal to be a dream. He looks up at Xiang and sits up, words failing him.
For a long few minutes, neither of them say anything, just watching each other. Eventually, a smile spreads on Damon’s face. The smile breaks into giddy laughter that he can’t hold back.
“I wish… I wish I could have seen his face… when he found out…”
He falls back into the chair, clutching his side against the pain of his injuries as he continues to laugh.
I'm not broken, in my dream I win...
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River
LOCATION - GALLEY
River looks up at Jayne when she feels his eyes on her.
"You are being utterly ridiculous, you know that?" She arches a brow like a mother looking at her stubborn child. "But if you want to be that way then maybe you don't need any bao. I'm sure everyone else will be able to enjoy it for you."
She returns her attention to steamer, as if she could see the bao through it.
I'm not broken, in my dream I win...
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Jayne's Move
"But if you want to be that way then maybe you don't need any bao. I'm sure everyone else will be able to enjoy it for you."
The corners of Jayne's mouth flicker slightly as he holds in a smile. "Yes, ma'am." It was odd - now that River had forbade him from having any bao, he suddenly wanted some.
A splash and hiss near Jayne quickly pull his attention back to the pot of boiling coffee. He pulls on a thick baby blue oven mit with a white floral pattern and removes the pot from the heater. "Pardon, 'Nara" he apologises after bumping her with an elbow, his eyes always on the bao making activities.
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Slights move:
Slight shrugs. "Good question. You can ask him yourself. Mean time, might I have some frikkin atmo? I can't hold out much longer. And I'm very cold."
Slight begins to make his way to the airlock, waiting for Malachi to follow.
"Any questions you have shall have to be after I contact Serenity. We need to arrange a rendezvous, if you want to kill this Shepard."
Slight makes sure to stress Shepard, to indicate he's aware of more than a godly view.
Slight begins to consider his options. Killing this pompous fool would be the easiest, but Slight can't afford any vendettas from his friends. Threat of force is out as well. Slight is too weak to maintain a level of control over a hardened killer. Until his body is repaired, he can't continue to use his brain. Whatever Niska gave him in that smoke left a few scars. The filter is still in his pocket, so he can run some tests and find out what exactly is in his body. Until he performs a cleansing rite, he has to be careful. What's more, for his body to be prepared, he needs to be fixed up. Abruptly, his mind creates a vision, as his advanced thoughts put the puzzle together.
There's a person in front of him, as he lays on a med table. The faces change through mechanics and doctors he's known. Finally, the face settles on the mechanic from Serenity. She can fix the parts. But she becomes half the person, as the faces change through the doctors. It finally settles onto Simon, and the two faces meld.
Slight nods to himself. Both of them. Both of them can help him become. . .whole, again.
Wizards Eighth Rule: Deserve Victory
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